Leominster councilors seek answers on police 'upheaval'

LEOMINSTER -- The state of the Police Department and recent resignations of senior officers have some city councilors seeking answers.

During discussions at the council's Feb. 8 meeting about an appropriation of funds that would allow for the creation of an interim police captain position, several councilors spoke out about concerns they have with the department.

"Does anyone else have a problem with the silence?" asked At-large Councilor John Dombrowski. "No offense, but upheaval is the only word to describe what's going on down there. You have respected senior guys who are just resigning and there is no response."

Dombrowski went on to describe the abrupt resignations of the department's chief and two of its lieutenants as "bizarre."

"There's no plan, there's no explanation, there's no anything. I have a major problem with that," he said.

Ward 5 Councilor Richard Marchand had said he agreed with comments made by other councilors about the police force.

"I've known of issues with the Police Department going back to 1981," he said.

Marchand made a motion for the City Council to invite John Harmon, the city's human resources director, to the council's meeting next Monday to discuss what positions are open within the Police Department. Marchand's motion was approved unanimously.

Harmon, reached Wednesday, said two of the department's lieutenants, as well as the chief of police, retired over the course of 2015.

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"When these three people retired, we had three superior officers' positions that had to be filled," Harmon said, adding that this caused many remaining members of the department to shift into new roles.

Prior to the three retirements, the department had one chief, four lieutenants and 10 sergeants. Harmon said the department currently has one chief, two lieutenants, 10 sergeants and one captain.

The new captain's position, which was approved by the council at its Feb. 8 meeting, was filled by Lt. Michael Ciccolini.

"We're currently only down one position because we bumped everyone up," said Harmon.

Of all the department's current superior officers, seven are serving in provisional, or temporary positions, including the police captain, two lieutenants, three sergeants, and the chief's position, which became occupied by Lt. Michael Goldman after former chief Robert Healey was placed on administrative leave in September and retired in December.

Healey was placed on administrative leave for a "physical altercation" inside the station.

Lts. Scott Bernier and Jeff Dudley retired from the department on Jan. 8, 2015 and Oct. 7, 2015, respectively. Harmon said that all three officers were eligible for retirement when they left the department.

The details regarding the physical altercation between Healey and two of his subordinates on Sept. 21 have not yet been disclosed. In November, Mayor Dean Mazzarella had told the Sentinel & Enterprise that an investigation into the altercation seemed unlikely. Later in November, when voting on the nearly $90,000 settlement being paid to Healey by the city, multiple councilors expressed interest in learning more about the altercation, including Ward 3 Councilor David Cormier, at-large Councilors Claire Freda and James Lanciani Jr., and then at-large Councilor Robert Salvatelli.

At the time, Freda, who voted against the settlement, had said Dudley had sent her an email claiming to have more information about what led to the altercation.

"I think we owe it to the taxpayer and to Jeff Dudley to find a little bit of an explanation," Freda had said at the time.

Follow Peter Jasinski on Twitter and Tout @PeterJasinski53
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Editor's note: This story has been updated from the original to correct that Lt. Michael Goldman became acting chief after Robert Healey was placed on administrative leave.

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